Vietnam has posted textile and garment export turnovers of over 2.7 billion U.S. dollars in the first half of this year, posting a year-on-year surge of 32.6 percent, according to the Vietnam Textile and Apparel Association on Monday.

In the period, the United States was the biggest market of Vietnamese textiles and garments with import volume of nearly 1.4 billion dollars, including 350 million dollars from non-quota products, said Vitas' chairman Le Quoc An.

After Vietnam joins the World Trade Organization (WTO), hopefully later this year, it will export more garments and textiles, especially to the United States, and attract more foreign investors in the domestic apparel industry, Vietnamese deputy industry minister Bui Xuan Khu said recently.

Vietnam is estimated to reap 5.5 billion dollars from exporting garments and textiles, mainly to the European Union and the United States in 2006, up 14.6 percent against 2005.